The £470million takeover of Liverpool by two American tycoons could go through as early as tomorrow.

Further progress was been made today on the offer made by George Gillett and
Tom Hicks, who both own NHL teams and an announcement is expected within the
next couple of days.

If all the details are tied up in time, the club could even announce to the
Stock Exchange tomorrow that chairman David Moores has agreed to sell his
majority shareholding to the Americans.

Hicks, who also owns the Texas Rangers baseball team, joined forces with
Gillett to gazump rival bidders Dubai International Capital last week.

Arrangements over the future of Liverpool's new stadium appear to have
clinched the deal. Not only has Hicks built up a reputation for developing
state-of-the-art stadia for his teams, but the duo have now guaranteed that
Liverpool's new Stanley Park ground would not be shared with other teams.

In Gillett's original approach, when he was considering a solo takeover, he
had indicated he wanted a ground-share arrangement to cut costs and maximise
income.

Hicks and Gillett will split the £470million cost of taking over the club on a
50-50 basis, with around £255million going to buy the shareholding and take over
the £80million debt, and a further £215million on the stadium.

When the takeover goes through it will mean Liverpool, Manchester United and
Aston Villa are all in American hands.